4X4 Union Unit Strength Determination

I know I said "leadership" would be next, but, I wanted to close the loop on the infantry forces by addressing the Union command for the scenario.

The Yankees have a nice mix of men defending the hill. Well, nice from a wargamer's perspective as it offers a rich palette. From the perspective of the Union high command, it is a little frightening actually.

Let's not forget that the hill not only guards the right flank of the Union army and its loss would unhinge the excellent position of the remainder of the army, but, the hill also guards the Baltimore Pike. Vital for supplies and men arriving on the field.

By the time of the Confederate assault at dark, the only troops available to defend the hill are a mix of:

1. Superb units that were mauled on July 1. Meredith's (Iron Brigade) and Cutler's units suffered in the range of 47% to 77% losses on the first day.
2. Greene's brigade of New Yorkers, just arrived earlier in the day and led by the oldest soldier in the United States Army - who, until 1862, was out of the army for 25 years.
3. Nearby and able to move up in a time of need is Amsberg's brigade of "Flying Dutchmen". Ridiculed in the army for their flight at Chancellorsville and their flight through Gettysburg on July 1.

Earlier in the day, the hill was much more strongly defended. But XII Corps was ordered to vacate their defenses and move to support other areas of the line under attack. Greene's brigade was left to defend a portion of the line, but the area by the lower knoll of Culp's Hill was "in the air".

I think that the Federal army was quite lucky that the attack here did not begin until darkness. I believe that a battle lost is a lot like a football game lost. Seldom can you attribute it to one play or one event. It is the collection of events, added together, that make the loss or the victory. "In war, events of great importance are the results of trivial causes" said Julius Caesar.

Having lost Culp's Hill would have made for a much more difficult July 3rd for the Federals!

OK onto the Yankees...

GREENE	Strength	Combat	Defense
60 NY	313	D10	D6
78 NY	202	D8	D4
102 NY	248	D8	D4
137 NY	456	D12	D8
149 NY	319	D10	D6
CUTLER	Strength	Combat	Defense
7 IN	434	D10	D8
76 NY	141	D8	D4
84 NY	101	D8	D4
95 NY	126	D8	D4
147 NY	82	D8	D4
56 PA	122	D8	D4
MEREDITH	Strength	Combat	Defense
19 IN	98	D8	D4
24 MI	133	D8	D4
2 WI	69	D8	D4
6 WI	176	D8	D4
7 WI	186	D8	D4
AMSBERG	Strength	Combat	Defense
82 IL	204	D8	D4
45 NY	151	D8	D4
157 NY	202	D8	D4
61 OH	200	D8	D4

The above numbers show the strengths of the units at the time of the action on Culp's Hill. The numbers for Amsberg, Cutler and Meredith have been adjusted to reflect the losses from July 1.

These ratings are based upon the ratings guidelines from the previous post. So you can see that the superb men from I Corps are pretty worthless in FoB game terms. Also, those are some really small units. So, let's manage the scenario!

We'll converge some of the individual units into "game units", this will work fine and be more correct in terms of unit frontage and all that jazz. Also, I have read that even though these units were hammered, they still had a high fighting spirit. So, we'll adjust the Defense values upwards.

Greene's men are easy, we need make no adjustments as they are newly arrived on the field and have not been bloodied.

Amsberg's men were bloodied on July 1, and once again trounced by the rebels. If they were at full strength, we'd be reducing their Defense values. They're good to go as they are.

There are a couple of Yankee artillery batteries available too, but they'll be range challenged by the darkness.

So, if you compare the two infantry forces, the Yanks will be challenged! Thank goodness there will be some works to hide behind along a portion of the line! As a player, isn't a challenge what you want? I know it is for me. The Rebs will be challenged by the terrain and by the confusion of a night assault.

Here are the final values...

GREENE	Strength	Combat	Defense
60 NY	313	D10	D6
78 NY	202	D8	D4
102 NY	248	D8	D4
137 NY	456	D12	D8
149 NY	319	D10	D6
CUTLER	Strength	Combat	Defense
7 IN	434	D10	D8
Converged NY	368	D10	D8
Converged NY/PA	204	D8	D8
MEREDITH	Strength	Combat	Defense
Converged IN/MI	231	D8	D8
Converged WI	431	D10	D8
AMSBERG	Strength	Combat	Defense
82 IL	204	D8	D4
45 NY	151	D8	D4
157 NY	202	D8	D4
61 OH	200	D8	D4

OK, leadership really is next.